


Illuminated

by justbygrace



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2015-01-02
Packaged: 2018-03-04 21:13:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3090035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justbygrace/pseuds/justbygrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The fic I wrote to celebrate the Olympics last year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Illuminated

As soon as he smiled and extended his hand, all Rose Tyler could think of was the last time she had seen him she had slapped him hard across the face. Unfortunately that’s not the sort of thing you can bring up when there are a dozen microphones being shoved into your face and reporters screaming questions at you. The look on his face told her clearer than any words that he remembered that incident quite well and when his hand went up to rub his jaw tentatively she grinned widely at him. He dropped his hand self-consciously, giving her an annoyed look and turning back to the cameras.

He was John Noble, nicknamed Doctor, Olympic gold medalist back to reclaim his title in men's skeleton racing and she had slept with him four years ago in Vancouver. She let her mind wander for a moment, back to quiet chats and stolen moments and passionate kisses and whispered words of affection. Back then she had just been starting out, the underdog from England who wasn’t quite sure how she came to be competing against such huge names in snowboarding like Shaun White and Peetu Piiroinen. She had been too young, too unsure of herself, too naïve, and not at all sure how to stand up against smooth talking athletes who charmed her into bed with their promises of love and forever (well, one smooth talking athlete). He had maybe not strictly deserved the punch, but when a young woman finds another woman’s underthings in a man’s duffle, well, punching might be letting him off easily. With this in mind, she tossed her head and shouldered the Doctor out of the way, ready to show the world that she was here and she was not going down without a fight.

After the interviews were over the Doctor tried to get her attention, but Rose allowed the crowd to move her away. She had a full schedule ahead and there was no place in it for old flames, no matter how fit he looked in his uniform or how much the wind blew his really great hair just so or how…no, she had other things on her mind. Her mind kept drifting back to him through the day; she did sit-ups to the memory of his lips on hers, crunches with the echo of his voice whispering in her ear, ran laps to the feel of his fingers ghosting over her skin. She groaned as she hit the showers, apparently she was not as over him as she had previously thought.

That night she received word that most of the competitors from England were headed out for a drink on the town and did she want to come along. She didn’t actually, she had a strict training schedule and it involved getting the maximum amount of sleep, but the combination of possibly seeing the Doctor again and making him jealous with some other bloke was too heady to pass up. She dressed carefully in jeans that showed off her arse, a necklace that dipped into her cleavage, and boots that emphasized her calves. When she walked into the lobby of her hotel to meet up with her friends, she knew she looked good.

Martha Jones, her best friend and her coach, introduced her to an American named Jack Harkness, a handsome bloke who turned out to have a great love for women (and men and possibly undiscovered life forms), but was a willing dancer who bought rounds for everyone like the world was ending tomorrow. Plus, he was handsome and handsy and looked good on her arm. From the moment they entered the bar, Rose could feel the Doctor’s eyes on her and Jack and if she put a little extra swing to her hips when she moved, well, who could blame her. The vodka was startlingly strong and it didn’t take long for things to start to blur together. She had drank too much and danced too long and was just about to give up and try to make it back to the hotel when she felt strong arms around her and a familiar voice whispering in her ear. She couldn’t place it, but it was soothing and reminded her of home so she rested her head on its owner’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

When she woke up she was in her own bed, albeit still fully dressed. She couldn’t actually remember how she had gotten back to her room, but a bleary glance around the room showed a note on her nightstand. It was signed the Doctor and it was a firm line about how he most definitely did not take advantage of her inebriated state. She groaned, thinking she might actually owe him a thank you, albeit only a small one, she did so hate feeling indebted to the tosser. She practiced what she was going to say as she showered and ran through her morning exercise routine and downed painkillers. It had to be concise and quick, she knew if she spent too long in his presence his charm would overwhelm her.

With that in mind, she made her way to where she knew he would be. She arrived at his practice arena just in time to see him punch Jack Harkness in the nose with a loud crunch. Her surprised noise caught their attention and both men turned towards her with somewhat sheepish expressions. Jack recovered first saying something about “best friend since school” and “probably deserved it.” The Doctor refused to meet her gaze and became suddenly interested in doing sit-ups which caused her to forget that she was here to speak to him and not to gawk at his shoulder muscles. She recollected herself when he cleared his throat and then her words were awkward and tumbled over each other. He seemed to get the gist because he grinned at her and she forgot to breathe for a solid moment before she shook her head and stalked off to find better things to do.

At three pm she was seated in the spectator stand around the track for skeleton racing for reasons she was not taking the time to dwell on. She found herself between Martha Jones and some redhead lady who was wearing a sweater with the British flag on it and cheering at the top of her lungs. As they waited for the event to begin, Rose found herself telling Martha all about the events of the past twenty-four hours and Martha was appropriately sympathetic, if a tad amused at certain parts. She had just gotten to the bit about the Doctor punching Jack when the redhead interrupted her to ask if she was indeed talking about Jack Harkness and John Noble. Rose raised her eyebrows, but agreed that she was indeed. The lady laughed, introducing herself as Donna and telling Rose about the prank she had played on her brother the year before involving exchanging their duffles at the last minute leaving John with nothing to wear. He had apparently refused to speak to her for months afterwards.

Rose sat in open-mouthed horror as she listened to the story, events starting to come together in a way that she was unsure that she enjoyed. She almost missed his race altogether, though she did recollect herself long enough to join the rest of the crowd on their feet as he once more secured his place at the top. Images of him trying to explain himself right before she had punched him and stormed from his hotel room swam in her mind and she realized she needed to find a way to apologize to him and it had to be something pretty major. She headed back to her quarters in preparation for her event later that evening with a plan half formed in her mind.

Despite her distraction, Rose forced herself to tear herself away from thoughts of the Doctor long enough to give her performance her everything. It was not the best she had ever done - the stadium lights and deafening crowd threw her off track during a minor trick - but it was enough to win her the silver. Standing on the podium and listening to ‘God Save the Queen’ Rose could hardly believe she had made it here. She knew her mom would be taping every moment and probably crying and it was enough to make her give everyone a genuine smile despite her racing heart.

Afterwards she walked towards the cameras with a pounding heart. She knew what she had to say and only hoped she’d be able to go through with it. The reporter began with the usual questions, “How do you feel?” and “Were you nervous?” and Rose forced herself to answer them as calmly as she could. When they paused to breathe, Rose asked if they minded if she added something else. They looked confused but agreed, quieting down and focusing their lenses on her face. Looking straight into the cameras, she talked about how there was someone out there who she had fallen in love with, but then had misjudged. She apologized and added how much she hoped that he would eventually see this and realize she regretted jumping to conclusions. Afterwards she smiled at the reporters shakily and left, ignoring their shouted questions for more information.

Laying on her hotel bed late that night she watched her interview play, groaning as she realized how nervous she had both looked and sounded. The last word was hardly out of her mouth before her cell phone rang. It was an unknown number and she answered cautiously, a wide grin crossing her face when she heard the Doctor’s tentative voice asking if she wanted to maybe meet up and talk.

The talk turned into a snog which progressed to a stumbling path back to his hotel room. She was missing her shorts and her vest and he was down to just his pants when she paused, glancing towards his duffle and sweetly asking if she could borrow a nice bra. He groaned, resting his head on her shoulder and firmly declaring that Donna would not be receiving an invitation to the wedding before freezing when he realized what he’d said. She only laughed at him and dragged his mouth back down to hers.

It turned out that Donna did indeed receive an invitation to the wedding and gave a touching toast at the reception about how everything happens for a reason which Rose and the Doctor tried to ignore.


End file.
